Mother’s Day: Celebration or reflection?
Mother’s Day is coming up, and mothers everywhere are waking up in fear. Caught between adorable starry-eyed children with the breakfast in bed, and fear of the disaster they have left in their wake.Ok. It’s not that bad. But it’s funny to think about, right? This issue of the ECHO Magazine shows motherhood from a few different perspectives.My children are older now, so the disasters are somewhat limited. We are able to avoid breakfast in bed by making reservations at Bear Mountain Grill and eating our fill at the buffet. Other than that, Mother’s Day is kind of like any other day at my house; there is fighting, cooking and cleaning.

A hoax in which this writer was involved back in the mid-1970s turned out to be widely believed—despite “facts” that were intended to be too far-fetched to be believed.
It started with a conversation at Bill Higdon’s barber shop in Eagle River. Accountant Gerry O’Connor was in one chair, chatting with barber Don Golden. Golden had been on duty there two years earlier when Don Young, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, stopped by to seek votes. Young lost to Rep. Nick Begich but won the special election held to replace the incumbent who disappeared a couple of days later on a flight to Juneau. Young now is the longest-serving current member in the House. O’Connor was to become a member of the Anchorage Assembly from 1979-85. Just so you know, all that otherwise mostly-useless information is intended to give you a little background for what follows. O’Connor on that day announced to those being treated to, or awaiting treatment in, the tonsorial arts that he received a computer print-out listing all federal grants as provided by the state’s new congressman. It filled a large box of continuous-feed printed pages, O’Connor said while offering to let anyone stop by his office to review it. That, of course, led to a discussion of possible grants that might be sought by the discussion’s participants. One of the suggestions was to seek federal funds to pay for a search for Big Foot. After all, that was as logical and legitimate a use of our tax money as some of the items the accountant described in the seemingly unending list of approved grants.

Even though this writer recognizes that not everyone is a believer in the One whose birth we celebrate this month he will never apologize for saying, “Merry Christmas.” Even a non-believer can enjoy the colored lights that brighten the darkest month of the year. The decorations are pretty and people are smiling despite their frantic shopping forays. The practice of giving and sharing love for our neighbors can be enjoyed by all—and well should be. He and the girl who became his bride 65 years ago have for many seasons celebrated the holiday by driving around to look at the decorated homes. We have noted the continuous growth of subdivisions and appreciate those who go all out to make their homes and yards festive. It’s not easy to forget the early years when the population was much smaller compared to today’s numbers. Even though smaller, the holiday spirit was evident throughout.

The Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce, serving the community since 1970 has announced the selection of Debbie Rinckey as its new executive director. Debbie will fill the vacancy created by Dana Thorp Patterson’s departure in December. The selection was made after a regional search and selection process, during which Debbie served as a board member and volunteer for the Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce.